Episode 5 – Contrapasso
Westworld Worldly quirks are indeed beginning to take a turning point with Episode 5.
It begins with Dr Robert Ford (played by esteem actor, Sir Anthony Hopkins ) telling a story about his childhood greyhound pet (who after years of chasing a piece of felt on a stick) was set free from his collar, only to chase down a stray cat and kill it in the most horrific way.
Dialogue: Dr Ford,”…to the horror of everyone, he killed that little cat, tore it to pieces…and then he just sat there…confused. That dog has spent its whole life, trying to catch that…thing. Now it had no idea what to do.”
We can relate this scene as a metaphor, setting us up with our relationship to Delores, (the oldest robotics host) whose been caught in a continuous loop, outlined by her program. It’s apparent Delores will finally breakout of her loop, inadvertently reprogrammed by an outside source.
We are lead to believe, this outside source appears to point to Arnold, (past partner of Dr Ford) who unfortunately died in the park, over 34 years ago. It’s the exact same source, triggering the MiB ( Man in Black) to search for the maze. It’s clear, Delores and the MiB will both find their freedom when they reach the end of the maze. In fact, you could say they’re on a mission to find the truth.
BUT – Dr Ford is not amused 😒.
You get this impression, even though Dr Ford appears to be seemingly at ease with complete control over his world ( Westworld) on the outside, it appears underneath, there’s an increasingly disturbed feeling, stirring within him. We get this impression, it’s quite possible, Dr Ford is hiding something and trying with all his might to prevent the past from revealing itself.
His arrogance of power is truly evident.
Is Dr Ford concerned of what might happen if the truth gets out? Will the same thing happen to the humanoid robots, getting loose and finally taking revenge on its guests, in the most horrific way?
Of course, these are assumptions, and we can’t really say where the writers are taking us, only that we’re intrigued by this most amazing adventure of Westworld.
In Scene Two, I would like to point out where Delores is, in the middle of a graveyard. Does it have any significance to the rest of the story ? Was the close-up scene of the countless bells resting on the rows of wood crosses, a small teaser of things to come?
Did you know the reason behind the bells tied to the crosses?
In the earlier days of the Wild West, it was a possibility to mistakenly pronounce someone dead and bury them in haste, when in fact they weren’t. So in lieu of this mistake, they use to place small crafted metal or ceramic bells on the crosses, with a string ( or chain) attached to each bell, leading down inside the coffin of the presumed dead. This way, if the person inside the coffin came back to life, they still had that last chance to grab that chain (attached to the bell) and ring it to warn others, that they had just been buried alive.
Whoa! Can you imagine being buried alive by mistake?!
Anyway, moving along…
While Delores is standing in the middle of this grave, she hears a whispering voice, that says,” Find me!” She closes her eyes saying,” Show me how?” A whirlwind of images come to light, but quickly she’s broken out of the trace by where she is.
William asks her,” Are you alright?”
Delores says,” Of course. Did I do something wrong?”
William, “Just earlier…I thought you were talking to someone?”
Delores smiles,” Must of been the wind.”
It’s certain Delores is following her loop pattern( to a point), but at the same time, is secretly seeking out answers to the questions. She hasn’t completely trusted William, as of yet.
William is also fighting his personal demons as he finally meets head-to-head with his arrogant brother-in-law, Logan. Without going into ever scene, let’s just say William has had enough of his brother-in-law and after going down the path with Logan’s wishes, including the Wild West Orgy, William finally breaks loose from Logan’s grips, telling Delores,” It’s a sick game and I don’t want to be part of it.”
This scene is directed victoriously by (I’m assuming) a women’s touch (possibly written by Lisa Joy herself ) as Delores expresses herself to William.
Delores, “…but together…( in tears, embracing William ) I know we can find a way out.”
William,” How can you be sure?”
Delores,” There’s a voice inside of me, telling me what I have to do. And it’s telling me I need you!”
Followed by a passionate kiss. You know that kiss. It’s the kiss where you know you have met your soul mate? Yup – that kiss. 😳
On that note I think Executives Producers Jonathan Nolan, his wife Lisa Joy and J. J. Abrams must be ecstatic with the growing success of the new Westworld. It may of just been coincidence, but the interaction of actors Jimmi Simpson ( playing William) and Evan Rachel Wood (playing Dolores) have both hit it, right on the mark. You can feel the chemistry as it happens.
This indeed is good acting!
As soon as Delores and William take on this most powerful scene, suddenly all hell breaks loose. William thankfully leaves Logan to fend for himself, taking off with the beautiful Delores.
Meanwhile…
Interesting, our rising star, Elsie Hughes (Westworld’s Programmer) determination has finally paid off. She finds a laser based satellite uplink component in the arm of the last host who attacked her( in the pervious episode). It appears her paranoia is warranted after all, and further investigation by her and Bernard will most probably happen in Episode 6.
Elsie confirms Bernard was right after all and says,” …Orion Belt has three stars, not four. Our friend wasn’t drawing stars…it was drawing a target. Someone has been using our host to smuggle that out of the park.”
Earlier it’s probable, Delores may have found the same components in her arm, but we aren’t sure if it was a dream or reality.
The next powerful scene…
Dr Robert Ford also confronts the MiB, expressing his control over the Park, which really doesn’t faze the MiB. Instead the MiB says,” How I’m doing Robert? Any closer to finding what I’m looking for?”
Dr Ford,” What is that…exactly?”
Teddy interrupts by saying they’re looking for a man named Wyatt.
It appears, MiB isn’t impressed with the new narrative of Wyatt and says,”…is he just another stooge for the tourist to mount on their wall at home or have you made a worthy adversary? Someone to stop me from finding the centre of the maze.”
Dr Ford,” And what are you hoping to find there?”
MiB,” … I think there’s a deeper meaning, hiding under all that, something a person who created it, wanted to express…something true.”
Dr Ford,”Well, if you’re looking for the moral of the story, just simply ask.”
MiB,” I need a shovel…man I’d be asking died 35 years ago, almost took this place with him, almost but not quite, thanks to me. But maybe he left something behind.”
As the MiB takes out his long knife about to find the answers within the belly of Dr Ford, his loyal pet,Teddy grabs the knife with his bare hands. This simply move makes me wonder if Dr Ford is indeed human after all ? Just maybe he too is an android. An interesting concept to plunder about, as we keep watching Westworld.
Let’s note here : This scene is why some viewers think William and the MiB may so happen be the same person. The timeline is obviously mixed, to confuse us, but did William turn into the MiB over time ? William originally entered Westworld with a “white hat” with the impression to add the good back into humanity. I get this idea, the real world (outside the park) has turned into this most evil place. Don’t you think actor Ed Harris makes the prefect MiB?
Finally –
On top of everything else, Maeve has confronted her demons too, as she awakes to one of the engineers, “Hello Felix…its time you and I had a chat.”
Whoa! Nice way to end episode 5.
The cast, the director and producers have certainly worked hard to make Westworld the most intriguing science fiction thriller TV series, ever! You can tell each actor was carefully picked to create such an awesome story. Checkout for more clues.
By Bari Demers – screenwriter of BLACK ANGELS and freelance writer
BTW – I still think Westworld is on a world all by itself and hopefully in the next season, we just may find ourselves on another planet with a new amusement park…let’s say Roman world ?
Also, the meaning of Contrapasso relates to the punishment of souls in Dante’s Inferno, referring to Purgatorio. Isn’t that amazing ! Pay close attention to the headings. They too provide some interesting clues. Is Westworld Purgatory?
Dreams and Reality 